My Friend Ginny
by dark pookha
Summary: Ginny becomes my friend during a potions class.


I was late again, just like I had been to every class so far that year. The professors just didn't understand that I wanted to explore the grounds and see what was different. They didn't understand that even Hogwarts, with its years of tradition and seemingly unchanging stones, actually changed from day to day. They were so set in their ways that they couldn't see the leaves starting to change colour from green to brilliant golden and crimson hues that caught the eye and drew the viewer into a pastoral scene. As I hurried, I reflected that going to potions wasn't so unlike the turn of the seasons; I would come in from the warm grounds, lush with fall growth into the cold dungeons that grew colder even still when Professor Snape entered the room.

I slipped into the classroom, hoping to come in unnoticed, but tripped and sent my knapsack flying.

"So good of you to join us, Miss Lovegood." Professor Snape loomed over me, watching me as I stood and collected my books and retrieved my wand from under a bench. "Five points from Ravenclaw for tardiness, and I believe an additional five points from Ravenclaw for clumsiness."

As the rest of the class laughed, he turned and oozed back to the front of the classroom, and I found my traditional seat at the back bench with no partner, again.

He looked over the classroom with his usual haughty, superior glare before he spoke.

"There shall be a change this year, no more partnering with someone of your own house. Each of you will partner with someone of the other house. Maybe some of the vaunted Ravenclaw intelligence will rub off on your Gryffindor partner."

I didn't move from my bench at the back, knowing no one would partner with me and I kept my eyes down so I wouldn't have to see this new rejection. A voice spoke into my ear, making me jump.

"Mind if I sit here?"

I looked up to see Ginny Weasley, her brown eyes bright under her arched eyebrows as she looked at me inquisitively. "Feel free," I told her, then held my breath as she smiled.

She sat down next to me and started piling her books on the bench. "I know how it feels to sit alone like that." She laughed ruefully. "I've got six brothers at home, but no sisters, so I get left out all the time."

"I'm Luna," I said, warming to her instantly.

"I know, and I'm sure you know I'm Ginny Weasley."

I nodded and we both turned our attention back to the front of the class where Professor Snape stood, tall and imposing. "If you are all quite done," he said, which we all knew meant to be quiet and still. The class fell into silence.

"Today we shall be making the Elixir of Clarity. This potion helps to clear the mind and focus it upon a single task." He paused before continuing, looking directly at Colin Creevey. "I daresay that many of you would benefit from it before attempting to make it, but you shall have to do your best. You may begin. I expect to see the completed potion on my desk at the end of class."

As Ginny opened her potions book to read the recipe, I began gathering the supplies needed to make the potion. I noticed that the jungfrau seeds weren't fresh, so I grabbed a handful and put them in a dish, then I approached Professor Snape. I waited until he deigned to notice me and asked, "Please, sir, may I retrieve some more jungfrau seeds from the stores, these seem to be a bit desssicated."

He snatched the dish from my hands and sniffed the seeds. "Indeed they are, Miss Lovegood. Please fetch enough for the entire class." He waved his wand at the locked door to the potion stores and I went through to fetch a new bottle of seeds. As I entered the storeroom, I heard the Professor lecturing about how the use of fresh seeds would make the potion stronger.

Finding the bottle containing the seeds slightly out of my reach, I used the summoning charm. I unscrewed the lid and measured out enough fresh seeds for the whole class. As I was about to leave, a thought occurred to me and I also took a small portion of liquorice stem.

I came back into the potions classroom to laughter from the entire class, directed at me.

"I was just enquiring of the class whether or not I would need to send out a search party to retrieve you." He waved at me dismissively to take my seat. I took enough jungfrau seed for myself and Ginny and returned to my seat. I left the remainder on the ingredients table for the rest of the class.

Ginny had already placed the other ingredients in the order that we would need them on the desk. We started working on our potions together, with her referencing the potions book at each step. As she started to add the pine needles to her cauldron, I reached over and grabbed her hand.

"I wouldn't do that," I told her.

She protested, "But step five is to add the pine needles."

I recited the recipe from memory, "Step five: Add three ounces pine needles, finely crushed. Do those look finely crushed?"

She looked down at the needles in her hands, still whole and sheepishly put them in a mortar to grind. As she ground her needles, she asked, "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked, confused.

She looked up from grinding, watching me closely. "How did you know that the needles needed to be finely ground? I would swear that you never looked at the book."

I waved at the book as I ground my pine needles. "I memorised that book last year."

"What the entire book?" She goggled at me.

"It's not hard when you know the trick of it." No one seemed to understand just how easy it is to remember the printed word, all I had to do is picture what I was doing when I read them and I could remember.

She turned back to her cauldron and I slipped the liquorice root surreptitiously into my mortar, grinding it with my pine needles. The anise like scent of the liquorice must have given me away and Professor Snape stalked to our table.

He snatched my mortar away and sniffed it. "Does the recipe call for liquorice, Miss Lovegood?"

"No, sir," I answered.

He placed the mortar back down on my table. "Then why did you feel it necessary to add it?"

I raised my head and boldly met his eyes. "The addition of the liquorice will enhance the ability of the potion drinker to concentrate, even when distracted. It will also give the potion a more pleasant taste and it will repel Nargles."

He sneered. "Just what is a Nargle?"

I began explaning about Nargles. I had only gotten to their prediliction of hiding in mistletoe when he stopped me. "Do you believe you know more than the author of your book, Miss Lovegood?"

"No, sir, I don't, but I'm sure this will work." I returned to crushing my needles and liquorice root. I could feel his eyes glaring at me as I ground away.

"Very well then; if you're so sure that this will work." I could hear the snideness in his voice. "Who would be willing to test Miss Lovegood's potion when she's done?"

Silence answered.

He raised his wand, preparing to vanish the contents of my mortar when Ginny spoke up.

"I'll volunteer," she said, sitting up straight.

Professor Snape stopped his wand in mid-wave and looked at her balefully. He pursed his thin lips and said, "On your own head, be it then." He raised his head and addressed the class. "Class, today Miss Lovegood will be instructing you. Please stop what you are working on and kindly give your attention to her." He sat down at an unused bench in front of me and watched.

I continued to make my potion, commenting the whole time. Every now and then, someone would snicker or giggle, but be quelled quickly by a glance from Professor Snape. When I reached step fifteen, I again diverged from the text. Instead of boiling the mixture slowly for three minutes, I raised the mixture to a roiling boil for five minutes.

"Miss Lovegood, Miss Lovegood," Professor Snape's jeering voice interrupted. "Why are you raising the mixture to a roiling boil rather than a gentle boil?"

I continued stirring the mixture as I answered. "The addition of the liquorice root requires a higher temperature for a longer period of time to ensure homogeneity. If you don't boil it for the full five minutes, you'll get a potion that will work only intermittently."

I finished the rest of the potion without incident or interruption. I bottled the very pretty pearlescent potion and handed it to Ginny. Without hesitation, she unstoppered the vial and drained it in one long swig.

When she put the bottle down, she licked her lips. "It really is quite a pleasant liquorice taste."

Professor Snape stood. "How do you feel Miss Weasley? Do we need to take you to the hospital wing?"

I was standing close enough that I'm sure I was the only one to see her pupils dilate.

"I feel fine, sir," she answered. "In fact, I feel more than fine. The headache that I had this morning is gone and I feel very…focussed."

Professor Snape stood and yanked her potion book from in front of her. He flipped it open to the recipe for sovereign glue. He held the book in front of her for only a moment before snapping it shut.

"Miss Weasley, please recite the proper way to make sovereign glue."

Ginny closed her eyes for a moment before launching into the recipe. She didn't make a single mistake, reciting the recipe without hesitation.

Professor Snape turned his glare to me, but I could see a faint smile on the corner of his lips. "It would appear that you have indeed made a superior version of the Elixir of Clarity. Fifteen points to Ravenclaw."

He turned and addressed the class again. "What Miss Lovegood so ably demonstrated is that potion making is not a science. Any fool can follow a recipe and produce a passable potion." He paused and glanced at Colin again. "Well, perhaps not _any_ fool."

He lifted the vial from in front of Ginny and held it up. "Potion making is an art. You can mix the ingredients in a certain manner and be sure of a certain result, but it takes someone with vision to understand how the ingredients play off of each other. Liquorice root indeed enhances the efficacy of this potion, but it also requires a more strenuous and careful approach to making it. It also means that the potion doesn't last as long; tens of minutes instead of hours."

He turned to me again. "Miss Lovegood, what would have happened if you had added stabilised extract of yarrow?"

I thought hard for a moment, remembering everything I had read about extract of yarrow. I answered, "I believe, sir, that it would have extended the life of the potion and made it able to keep at room temperature indefinitely."

He nodded in satisfaction. "That is correct. Stabilised essence of yarrow added at the correct moment would make this potion stable at room temperature."

"Please ensure that your work areas are properly cleaned and then you are dismissed." He walked back to his desk.

Ginny helped me clean my cauldron and the other equipment we had used.

"Thanks, Ginny," I told her simply.

"You're welcome." She smiled. "It was worth it to see his reaction. When I drank that down, he almost choked. I don't think he believed that I would trust you."

"Why did you trust me?" I looked at her, this time I really looked at her.

"You obviously knew what you were doing." She grinned. "Besides, I've heard about you and potions from some of the Hufflepuffs that you had potions with last year, and they all said you were the best at potions."

"Thanks again, Ginny"

That potions class was the start of our friendship.


End file.
